Google has released a beta version of their new WebKit-based browser called Chrome.  In reading through the introduction comic and feature list, I couldn’t help but keep thinking “why hasn’t anybody implemented this feature before?”  As someone who keeps a lot of tabs open for long periods of time, and who well knows the frustration of a JavaScript hanging the browser or a Flash crash taking the browser with it, I’m really excited about the direction they have gone.  It’s just as thrilling that a company with the mindshare and clout of Google is releasing an open-source standards-compliant browser which stands a chance of putting another dent in Internet Explorer’s market dominance.

Google Chrome rendering my site

I’m actually writing this post using the Chrome browser.  Above is a screenshot of how it renders my web site (correctly) and of the nifty memory manager which shows some stats on the resource usage of each tab process.  Neat!  There are a few glitches I’ve seen so far, but this is still a test version and what I’m seeing right now is very exciting.  Now I’m just waiting in expectation of the Linux and OS X versions.

P.S. – Try typing about:internets into the address bar in Chrome.  Read this if you don’t get the joke.